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Policy

Most Recalled Food Not Recovered

November 1, 2004 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 82, Issue 44

The Agriculture Department and FDA "need to better ensure the prompt and complete recalls of potentially unsafe food," concludes a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO, formerly the General Accounting Office). These agencies, the report says, do not know how promptly and completely companies and their distributors are carrying out recalls of food containing disease-causing bacteria or allergens. Except for infant formula, recalls of food are voluntary. Consequently, most recalled food is not recovered and may be consumed, according to a special analysis of agency documents and interviews done by GAO. USDA and FDA have no authority to order mandatory food or drug recalls or to impose monetary penalties if a company refuses to comply. Instead, they try to verify that a recall has been carried out by sampling products from some of the distributors. Food recalls have increased greatly since 1988, GAO says. For example, the amount of meat and poultry recalled increased from 6 million lb in 1988 to 36 million lb in 2003. GAO recommends that Congress pass legislation requiring firms to notify USDA or FDA when they find they have distributed unsafe food and giving agencies legal authority to order mandatory recalls. The report, number GAO-05-51, was issued on Oct. 20.

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